6950 no longer BIOS to 6970?

[ejvogel88]

My specs are:

Core i5 650 @ 3.84 ghz.
8 Gigs RAM @ 1600 Mhz
1TB Caviar Black HD

I also currently own a Radeon HD 5770 and I am looking to upgrade in the future. I am hearing conflicting reports. Some people are telling me to get the 6950 and flash the BIOS to make it a 6970. However, some people have told me that if I buy a 6950 the flash won't work anymore because AMD is fixing or has fixed the issue. What do you think I should do?

 

[rolli59]

Well a HD6950 would be a good upgrade from HD5770 by itself, modding would be an extra bonus.

 

[jaguarskx]

The sooner you buy the higher your chances of getting one that may allow you to mod since they are sitting in the warehouse.

If you want to be guaranteed HD 6970 level performance, then buy a HD 6970.

 

[ejvogel88]

Figured as much. Thanks

 

[17seconds]

The flash to a 6970 is still an option for the 6950 2GB version. There may be some confusion because the new 6950 1GB version cannot be flashed to a 6970.

 

[Kewlx25]

At worst, get a 6950 and see if it OC's well.

Several benchmarks have shown 6950 with a +20% overdrive can perform as well or better than a stock 6970 w/o OD enabled.

I was able to mod my 6950 to 1536, but I'm using the 6950 bios as to keep the stock memory voltages. Running 890/1385 @ 1.08v. I was running 910/1400 @ 1.085v, but I was getting micro-stuttering from the VRM limiting itself. Not worth the extra OC if the card is limited by the power draw.

P.S. I do mean 1.08v, I'm under-volting the chip to 1) run cooler 2) lower power draw to allow more OC. It is running stable.

 

[dalauder]

Of course a 6970 OC'd is faster. The 2GB versions unlocked still--last I heard.